"You… I… What schemes and tricks, make yourself clear," The Anbu ninja who had just spoken couldn't help but swallow hard.
As the only princess of Konoha, when Tsunade got angry, it really wasn't something to reason with.
"Go back and tell Sarutobi Hiruzen, stop always trying to play those petty tricks of his, always wanting to control others, sooner or later, he'll face backlash."
"How do you know it was the Hokage…"
"Shut up!", The leading Anbu ninja hurriedly covered the mouth of the companion who had just spoken.
'This Uchiha…'
'No wonder the First Hokage always said the Uchiha are an evil clan, this Uchiha boy completely disregarde d the Hokage and refuses to be disciplined.'
But they were indeed in the wrong. While the frontlines were still at war, in the rear… not only was the Hokage not overseeing strategy, he was even studying such petty matters…
'No, that's not right. There must be deeper meaning to the Hokage's arrangement!'
That was close, he almost started to doubt the Hokage. The leading Anbu ninja quickly shook off the improper thoughts in his mind and returned to the "correct path."
"Are we just going to watch him leave?"
Realizing that he had almost blurted out the Hokage's plan earlier, the Anbu ninja felt a lingering fear, but still looked unwillingly at the Uchiha youth who continued walking ahead.
"Don't complicate things. Our mission is to bring back the jinchūriki. As for the rest, report to the Hokage. The Uchiha clan will be dealt with by the Hokage himself."
"Understood."
The group of Anbu ninjas looked at each other, but still stepped aside, allowing Uchiha Kage to swagger off with the Cloud Village ninja controlled by the Sharingan.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Though she didn't fully understand the conversation between the Uchiha youth and those people earlier, Kushina instinctively sensed that they might not be good people.
'Also…'
'That stinky thief took a bunch of stuff from Tsunade-neechan's treasured room and hasn't returned them yet!'
"Kushina, now come back to Konoha with us!"
Seeing Kushina trying to go around them to chase after the youth ahead, the Anbu ninjas immediately surrounded her and blocked her path.
Some even grabbed Kushina's shoulder as if subduing a fugitive, just like the Cloud ninjas who had kidnapped her earlier.
"Let me go! He stole Tsunade-neechan's stuff, I have to get it back!"
'It hurts…'
'These self-proclaimed Anbu ninjas aren't even as gentle as those Cloud ninjas just now!'
Kushina wanted to break free from the restraint, but just like before, she was powerless.
"This matter will be handled by the Hokage. Come back to the village with us now!"
No more accidents could be allowed.
Today's trouble became complicated all because of this unexpected Uchiha's interference.
If it weren't for his involvement, those Cloud ninjas wouldn't have escaped so quickly, and wouldn't have left so few traces…
Otherwise, they would have long been caught by the "reinforcements" arranged by the Hokage.
And they wouldn't need these watchers to act.
Now, if anything else went wrong… all of them secretly monitoring and protecting the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki would have to commit seppuku in shame.
In times of war, once you left the real control area of Konoha, every step was dangerous.
"But…"
Kushina thought that if Tsunade came back and found the room not only wrecked, but its contents taken, she, the boarder, would surely be the first to face Tsunade's wrath.
At that point, not only would she be kicked out, she might not even be allowed to call her Tsunade-neechan in her heart anymore.
That stinky thief was right, her only relative now was Tsunade.
Even if their blood relationship was thin.
Besides, these self-proclaimed Konoha Anbu didn't seem reliable at all, traveling with them might not be safe…
Thinking of this, Kushina's eyes turned, and she immediately had an idea.
"Help! They're assaulting me!"
Though she didn't know who this 'stinky thief' really was, judging by his earlier behavior, it seemed he wouldn't hurt her.
He even complimented her hair color…
This was the first time in her life that someone outside her family appreciated her red hair.
Normally, people mocked it.
In contrast, these self-proclaimed Konoha ninjas… were even more violent toward her than the Cloud ninjas.
With such a comparison, Kushina naturally felt more inclined toward the boy who wasn't much older than her.
Even if he still seemed like a thief.
"…"
Kushina's cry for help threw the Anbu ninjas into a stunned silence, and even Uchiha Kage, who had already walked a distance, couldn't help but stop.
"Don't spout nonsense, you demon fox…"
The Anbu ninja pressing Kushina's shoulder awkwardly glanced at the Uchiha youth still nearby, then hurriedly retorted.
But the latter part—"who would like a demon fox"—was swallowed back.
Some things are one thing if everyone knows it, but it's another to say it out loud.
"I'm not a demon fox!", Kushina clenched her small fists tightly in anger.
But when she saw that the Uchiha boy who had paused after her cry was now moving again, she slumped in despair.
Right… they were just strangers, and he was a thief. How could he possibly fight so many ninjas just for her, a demon fox…
"Mm!", Unexpectedly, the next second, Kushina felt her body suddenly fly up lightly.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that the thief boy had somehow passed through the surrounding Anbu ninjas, appeared before her, and, in front of everyone, picked her up and leapt out of the circle as if strolling in a garden, landing on the treetop of a tall tree.
The breeze brushed against her bright red hair, and as Kushina felt the warmth of his embrace, her eyes fixed on the boy's side profile under the moonlight. For a moment, she was dazed.
'He really came to save me…'
———
Kushina shouted for help…
Whether it was true or not, Uchiha Kage couldn't just stand by.
Using the Flying Thunder God mark he had secretly placed on Kushina earlier, he rescued her effortlessly.
"You… what jutsu did you use? How are you so fast…", From breaking through the masked ninja's encirclement to landing on the tree, Kushina didn't even have time to blink.
"Flying Thunder God Technique."
'Young Kushina is really light…'
Such a small, thin body, it felt like a gust of wind could blow her over.
Completely different from the future Kushina… sometimes she'd nearly smother him when lying on top of him.
"What? Flying Thunder God? Isn't that the time-space jutsu only the Second Hokage could use? How can an Uchiha know this secret art?"
"Return the jinchūriki immediately! Do you want to become a rogue ninja?"
Seeing the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki being taken away in front of them, the Anbu ninjas below all drew their ninja tools.
But they were also stunned by Uchiha Kage's speed.
How could there be such a fast movement technique? Body Flicker?
"When did I ever say I was a Konoha ninja?", Uchiha Kage put away his Sharingan, then, for the first time, revealed his Byakugan mode in front of others.
Byakugan: Open!
While placing Kushina on a nearby branch, Uchiha Kage summoned two shadow clones, each with activated Byakugan, and launched Gentle Fist attacks at the Anbu below.
Although he had lost the Tailed Beast chakra because of Kushina and Mikoto, even with only a portion of his ninja fragment abilities, Uchiha Kage was still strong.
"No… impossible. How could an Uchiha have the Byakugan? This is an illusion! Quick, use Genjutsu Release!"
Facing the shadow clones using Gentle Fist with Byakugan, the Anbu ninjas foolishly stood still and gathered chakra to break the illusion, only to be struck down by Gentle Fist pressure point strikes.
"Not only does he have Byakugan and Gentle Fist… he even uses the Nara Clan's secret technique?"
The remaining few elite Anbu who dodged the Gentle Fist were also bound from behind by his Shadow Imitation Technique.
'This must be an illusion…'
The last few, restrained, were also knocked unconscious after their chakra was sealed by Gentle Fist.
After defeating everyone, Uchiha Kage personally picked up the one with the strongest chakra and used Genjutsu to search for information.
Sure enough, the current time was the Second Great Ninja War. But since these Anbu had always been stationed in the village, there wasn't much useful intel…
But they did know the location of the war.
So should he go to the Cloud Village to eliminate the human traffickers' leader, or head to the frontlines…
Uchiha Kage hesitated.
But when he looked back and saw the red-haired girl sneakily reaching for his ninja pouch, he decided to head to Cloud Village and root out the threat.
'That said… why doesn't this solo mission have any quest prompts? Can I just stay in this world forever?'
'If that's the case, won't that mean I have gained another world?'
"You… I-I was just trying to take back what belongs to Tsunade-neechan, not steal from you…", Kushina, caught red-handed, hurriedly withdrew her hand in fear.
'This stinky thief was obviously pretending to be timid earlier…'
'He's clearly so strong, yet he waited until the last moment to act.'
Looking at the scattered ninjas on the ground, Kushina couldn't help but gasp.
But thinking about him breaking into her home to steal, she puffed up her undeveloped chest and stubbornly stared him down.
"It's just a few little toys. If you like them, you can have them all."
Sighing helplessly, Uchiha Kage reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out the toys he'd made back then using ropes, wood blocks, and some chakra-powered metals.
Although this world had science and electricity, back then, having just transmigrated and obsessed with chakra, he preferred to use chakra as a mysterious energy source.
So he made these toys for fun.
He originally wanted to bring them back to show Kaguya and Mikoto. But since young Kushina wanted them now, giving them to her wasn't a big deal.
"You… do you like me?", Kushina looked at the toys in her hands in surprise.
The boy before her not only gave her the things he had worked hard to "steal," he even helped her deal with so many bullies.
"Wait, acting weak, saving a damsel… You want to win my heart?"
But… after pondering for a moment, Kushina suddenly "realized."
"Let me tell you, I'm the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. I could explode at any moment! Don't think just because I'm pretty that… that you can have wicked thoughts about me!"
'I'm not falling for your trick!'
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